Heading off on holiday this winter? Wherever you’ll be heading, don’t go anywhere until you’ve read my guide to what to pack for a winter holiday or vacation.
3 tips for packing for a winter holiday or vacation
1. Determine how cold your destination will be
The first thing to consider when packing for a winter holiday, is how cold your destination is likely to be. If you’re visiting Zermatt in Switzerland, for example – where the snow cover reaches 17.7 inches from December to January – it goes without saying that you’re going to need to bring warm, cosy gear that you can move around comfortably in, like woollen jumpers and scarfs, and a pair of snow boots.
However, if you’re heading to a destination known for slightly milder temperatures – such as a popular UK staycation spot for example – average December temperatures will likely range from around 7 to 15°C. In this case, you’ll still need to bring some light knits and woollen wear, but you won’t need to dress like you’re off to the Arctic.
2. Visualise the outfits you plan to wear each day
When packing for your winter holiday, visualise the outfits you plan to wear, and look for ways to multi-purpose different items throughout your trip. For example, say you’ve packed one dress, one coat, a pair of boots, and a beret hat for one outfit; and for another outfit, you’ve packed a pair of jeans, a sweater, a coat, a beret hat, and a pair of boots.
Apart from your dress and jeans, all the other elements of these two outfits can double up as items to be worn for alternative outfits. Packing in this way will help you to save space, and limit luggage weight.
3. Spice up the colour scheme
When packing for your winter holiday (or for any holiday, for that matter), ensure that you don’t take too many clothes of the same colour. Otherwise, you might find that once you’re looking back on your prized holiday snaps, you may well look alike, or fairly similar, in each picture due to the clothes you’re wearing. So, your best bet is to spice up your colour scheme a little more.
Opt for three to four clothing items in neutral tones like black, white and beige; and the rest can be vivacious wintery hues, like cobalt blue, wine red, pumpkin orange, and olive green. Accessorise your holiday outfits with some trendy eyewear with face-flattering frames – perhaps round-shaped glasses, classic aviators or the best designer eyeglasses for women. This will help to protect your eyes from the winter sun, and ensure you have perfect vision, while staying stylish.
5. Pack clothes you’ll wear at least twice
If you’re a frequent traveller, you’ll probably be very familiar with the concept of packing light for a holiday or vacation.
For some of us, however, packing light seems totally unachievable, regardless of how long we’ll be staying for. If this sounds like you, my tip would be to pack clothing items you know you’ll wear at least two to three times. You may well dream of wearing your most glamorous evening dress for a holiday photo or two, but consider how often you’ll wear it; if it is particularly heavy and it’s only going to take up valuable space in your case, would you be better off bringing an additional day outfit with you instead?
6. Roll clothes, rather than folding them
The debate about whether it’s best to roll or fold clothes when packing for a holiday, has been going on for some time. Personally, I prefer to fold my clothes so I don’t have to iron them again when I arrive at my destination. However, rolling clothes does help to save a lot of space so, if this is a concern for you, it may well be the way to go.
If you want to improve your packing process further, invest in packing cubes to help you to pack your clothes neatly, while keeping track of where everything is.
So, there you have it – six tips for packing for a winter holiday or vacation. Now you just need to decide where to go! Check out my previous post on the best winter sun destinations for some inspiration.